Central Park To Be New Community Name

On August 1, SUN announced that residents have selected Central Park to replace Stapleton as the neighborhood name. The name Central Park is a familiar one to all of us as it’s the name of the neighborhood’s signature park, commuter rail station, community rec center, and a boulevard that runs 4.5 miles north and south through nearly the entire community, among other instances.

The selection of Central Park concludes a seven-week community-driven process to identify a new name. 330+ names were submitted by community members for consideration and an advisory board of diverse community stakeholders narrowed the field of eligible names for a vote of the residents. Three rounds of voting followed, each with between 7,500 and 8,000 votes cast. In the final round of voting, which concluded on Thursday, July 30, Central Park was selected over Skyview with 63% of the vote. SUN, the area’s Denver Registered Neighborhood Organization, led the renaming effort with the full support of the City and County of Denver and the Master Community Association (MCA).

What Came Next — On August 19, the MCA Delegate Board and Executive Board voted unanimously to change the community name to Central Park. The MCA also voted to recommend the name change to Brookfield Properties, who will take up the issue independently of SUN or the MCA.

For its part, SUN hosted an electronic vote to adopt Central Park United Neighbors as its new name. The vote ran from August 24 through August 31, concluding with a public community meeting. Adoption requires a 66% affirmative vote. Please see the SUN web site for the results of that vote: www.StapletonUnitedNeighbors.org

SUN’s September Meeting: Tues, Sept. 15, 6:30–8:30pm

SUN’s monthly meetings begin with updates from community partners such as the Denver Police Department, Northeast Transportation Connections, Denver Public Library, and Denver City Council District 8, followed by announcements, after which a speaker or topic is featured.

Seeking Candidates for a Diverse SUN Board

There are currently three open seats on the SUN board of directors. SUN welcomes all who are interested to join monthly meetings on the third Tuesday of most months from 6:30–8:30pm via Zoom during COVID-relaed physical distancing.

Interested candidates should consider how their background would enhance SUN’s role in the community and should submit a brief biographical statement (up to 250 words) describing interests and relevant experiences. SUN seeks a board diverse in geography within Central Park, sex, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, rental/ownership status, and professions. SUN is composed of volunteers and is committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our community.

Each May, at SUN’s Annual Community Forum, a slate of candidates is elected to begin a 2-year term on the SUN board. Any candidate brought onto the board off-cycle would be filling in a term that ends in May of 2021, and would be up for reelection at that time. Potentially filling currently open seats will be discussed at the September 2020 meeting, or later.

Bucky, a deer that is frequently seen in Central Park neighborhoods, did not get the “Stay Out” message from the yellow tape. The area was roped off to prevent people from walking through sand and crushed rock in preparation for new flagstone in the treelawn. Photo by Tom Barbour